CFL bulbs emit high levels of ultraviolet radiation--UVC and UVA rays. The UV rays are so strong that they can actually burn skin and skin cells. Experts say the radiation could initiate cell death and cause skin cancer in its deadliest form, melanoma.

Friday February 22, 2013, 1:15 pm
I'm extremely suspicious of scare articles with no figures - except misleading and misused ones. The figures for mercury exposure mean, if you read them right, that you would get a dangerous dose of mercury IF you kept on breaking bulbs all day. The amount from one broken bulb, according to these figures, is way below the danger level.

And the references to UV are grossly misleading. Yes, too much UV can burn - that's why we wear sunscreen - but nowhere do I see any hint of a figure for how much is emitted by these bulbs. It would have been easy to measure it, so the fact that no figure is quoted suggests to my cynical mind that the reading was so low it would have made nonsense of the scare headline, so they just forgot it.

I'll believe this when it is reported by a serious scientific publication, not a scare story. As it is, I just wonder if the author or their sponsor has shares in LED lights.

Friday February 22, 2013, 6:36 pm
Good grief! Did this author actually research the facts? CFLs have been around in the rest of the world (meaning outside of the US) for a very long time. No credible evidence/reports of what is claimed in this article. Oh, and please do not use the ghost argument---just because you cannot see it, it does not mean it is not there. Just because an article is in care2.com does not mean it is 100% accurate. Please do not sign all petitions blindly, you have to read the whole article and see for yourself if it truly makes sense.

Saturday February 23, 2013, 2:47 pm
@ Hi T - You explained something that had puzzled me, why this particular scare story now. I should have remembered that, while CFLs are, as you say, old and familiar tech to most of the civilised world, like so many green devices they are new and confusing to Americans. Which is why the author thought that this nonsense would impress people - and judging by the other comments, it did.

It amazes me sometimes to remember that when I was young, America was where all the new discoveries and technologies came from. Sad.

Saturday February 23, 2013, 6:46 pm
I do not believe that CFL bulbs should ever be defined at green technology; they are far from that! Even sitting under fluorescent light is not good for the human body, quite apart from the environmental dangers. Here is another article on the subject: